DEVIL’S EMBRACE by Catherine Coulter

He passed a caressing finger over her cheek. “I thank the lord that he saw fit to leave you just as you are.”

“You are tempting, my lord.”

He suddenly pulled her to her feet. “Now off with those damned clothes, cara. I’ll not be driven to distraction, only to have to call a halt to bring you to your natural state.”

After he stripped her, he lifted her into his arms and carried her swiftly to the bed.

Before she knew what he was about, he sat down and flipped her face down over his thighs. He pressed his hand against the small of her back when she tried to rear up.

“I am a man of my word, cara,” he said.

“I do not want you to beat me, I want you to make love to me.”

Her voice was a wail of protest, and he chuckled. She ceased her struggles when his palm stroked over her buttocks. When he turned her over to kiss her, she whispered, “I think love and lust go together quite nicely.” And when at last they lay replete, she said, “I thought perhaps that you were asleep.”

“In the middle of the afternoon? I beg you, madam, to grant me some stamina.”

He slipped away from her and she drew herself up on her side. “There is something I would tell you.”

He quirked a black brow, and raised his hand to smooth her hair from her face.

“I would never have married Edward, regardless.”

“I know,” he said only. He sat up and pressed her upon her back, propping his head on his hand.

“You do not understand.” Somehow she could not make her eyes meet his. His fingers gently cupped her breast, his eyes still thoughtful upon her face.

He was not making it easy for her, she thought. The words still seemed stuck at odd angles in her throat. She heard a soft whimper, and realized with a confounded start that it had come from her own mouth.

His fingers stopped their light caressing.

“I am so sorry,” she whispered, her voice liquid with tears.

“I cannot imagine why.”

“I am being a fool.”

He merely smiled, and kissed her lightly, and waited.

“Oh damn you. I am pregnant.”

He remained silent. His hand moved from her breast to her belly, and remained there.

“I know, Cassandra.”

Her mouth dropped open, and she stared at him, utterly undone. “I do not understand. How—?”

“When I brought you here, after the duel, you became ill from the wine I gave you.”

“But everyone is occasionally ill.”

He looked faintly amused. “Yes, that is true. But you forget that I know your body very well. Your breasts, cara. Your pregnancy has made them swelled, heavy.”

She felt very much the fool. “Then why, my lord, did you not say something?”

“Because, my little simpleton, it was for you to tell me. Now that you know babes do not come from cabbage patches, I thought it only fitting that you be the bearer of the news this time.”

She gazed up at him in silence, and when she finally spoke, her voice was uncertain. “And did you not doubt me? Believe me conniving, dishonest? Believe that I wanted to return to you only because of the child?”

“Only until last night.”

“And why last night? It makes no sense. Last night was no different from any of our preceding nights together.”

He looked taken aback. “I do believe you are right. Last night was no different. Perhaps,” he continued, his hand caressing her belly, “it was not last night, but the night before.”

“You are making sport of me, my lord. This is a very serious matter.”

“Indeed you are quite right, Cassandra. If my calculations are correct, our babe will be born in mid-October, and I will have a fat wife after the Season and during the autumn round of visits that many of my friends make to Clare Castle.” He drew a resigned breath. “I suppose I shall simply have to invite Eliott, and the wife he will doubtless have by that time, since you will be far too bulky to travel to Hemphill Hall.”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *